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Can a Young Person Write His Own Obituary?
Author(s) -
Shneidman Edwin S.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1943-278x.1972.tb00090.x
Subject(s) - obituary , theme (computing) , psychology , theology , philosophy , computer science , world wide web
A definition of an obituary—what it is and what it is not—is given. The criteria for a New York Times obituary are reported. From a sample of over 100 obituaries elicited from college students at Harvard in 1969 some typical examples and reactions are cited. In general, it is concluded that young people have difficulty objectifying themselves or seeing themselves as dead. “Only the young are immortal” is the main theme of this brief paper.